Jonah
Jonah was the four-year-old patient who was Eric Foreman's first solo case as attending physician at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. He is the son of Melinda and the brother of Evan. He was portrayed by actor Kyle Silverstein. Case History ﻿Jonah’s mother brought him into the clinic after she noted blood in his vomit. He also had a stomach ache, diarrhea and lethargy. The clinic doctors did a cursory review of the digestive tract, but it was clean. Seeking more responsibility at the hospital, Dr. Foreman was in the clinic, but Dr. Cuddy realized he was having a dispute with his supervisor, Dr. House, and decided he might need a challenge. She assigned Jonah’s case to him. Dr. Foreman examined the patient. He showed no sign of abdominal pain. His mother told Dr. Foreman that Jonah had been in this condition for four days and his symptoms just kept getting worse. No one else in Jonah’s day care was sick and none of his friends were sick. Dr. Foreman used a pill camera to do a further review of the digestive tract. Jonah was reluctant, but his brother talked him into it. The digestive tract looked clean, but all of a sudden, Jonah started giggling uncontrollably. It obviously wasn’t the camera because it can’t be felt within the body. Dr. Foreman sought out Dr. Cameron and Dr. Chase for a consult. Dr. Chase thought the giggling was merely normal behavior for a boy Jonah’s age. Dr. Foreman told them the digestive tract was fine. After reviewing the chart, Dr. Chase suggested meningitis, but there was no fever, stiffness or rash. Dr. Chase thought it might be the thyroid gland, but Jonah’s TSH and 3 t4 were within range. Dr. Chase next suggested stomach cancer – leiomyosarcoma. Dr. Foreman didn’t think that would explain the giggling and suggested porphyria. Dr. Chase pointed out that porphyria usually presents with abdominal pain and that myominorsarcoma would also explain Jonah’s lethargy, stomachache and diarrhea. Dr. Foreman asked Dr. Chase and Dr. Cameron to help him test for both diagnoses and they agreed. However, both tests were negative. Dr. Chase suggested that Dr. Foreman consult Dr. House, but Dr. Foreman decided to run more tests instead. However, Jonah went into cardiac arrest. Dr. Foreman called for a crash cart. Dr. Chase applied the defibrillator and managed to shock him back into sinus rhythm. Dr. Chase once again implored Dr. Foreman to consult Dr. House. Dr. Foreman decided to approach Dr. House, but Dr. House had figured out Dr. Foreman was working another case without permission and decided not to assist him. Dr. Foreman met with Dr. Chase and Dr. Cameron again. He figured they must be missing something. Dr. Chase suggested that a single mother may be making her child sick to gain sympathy and attention – Munchausen syndrome by proxy. He noted the mother brought him into the clinic and was with Jonah when he went into cardiac arrest. However, Foreman noted that Jonah’s brother almost certainly would have said something – he’s even more protective of Jonah than their mother. Dr. Chase suggested that perhaps the brother was making him sick, something related to sibling rivalry. However, Dr. Foreman noted that the brother showed no sign of jealousy – he includes Jonah in everything he does and helps take care of him, even brushing his teeth. However, this made Dr. Foreman remember a comment the brother made about the pill camera being like the vitamins they take. Dr. Foreman figured out that Jona had taken too many vitamin pills and he was suffering from iron toxicity. It explained all the symptoms. Treatment was straightforward and the prognosis was that he could be released the following morning. The mother insisted she only gave Jonah one vitamin pill a day, but the brother admitted he gave Jonah more because he thought it would make him strong. Dr. Foreman assured the brother that Jonah would be okay. The brother was afraid Jonah would hate him, but Dr. Foreman assured him that brothers usually forgive each other. Jonah improved rapidly and walked out of the hospital holding his brother’s hand. Category:Characters Category:Patients Category:Males Category:Season 5 Category:Blonde-Haired Characters Category:Strawberry Blonde-Haired Characters